U.S. patent application number 12/946362 was filed with the patent office on 2011-05-19 for method and apparatus for managing content.
This patent application is currently assigned to Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.. Invention is credited to Hee-jeong Choo, Jin-guk Jeong, Ji-young Kwahk, Keum-koo LEE, Soo-hong Park, Ju-yun Sung.
Application Number | 20110119347 12/946362 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 43992249 |
Filed Date | 2011-05-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20110119347 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LEE; Keum-koo ; et
al. |
May 19, 2011 |
METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR MANAGING CONTENT
Abstract
An apparatus and method for managing content, wherein the method
includes determining an event to occur, based on user metadata,
selecting content corresponding to the event, selecting an external
device to reproduce the content, and then generating binding
information about a binding between the event, the content, and the
external device.
Inventors: |
LEE; Keum-koo; (Seongnam-si,
KR) ; Park; Soo-hong; (Yongin-si, KR) ; Jeong;
Jin-guk; (Yongin-si, KR) ; Choo; Hee-jeong;
(Anyang-si, KR) ; Sung; Ju-yun; (Yongin-si,
KR) ; Kwahk; Ji-young; (Seongnam-si, KR) |
Assignee: |
Samsung Electronics Co.,
Ltd.
|
Family ID: |
43992249 |
Appl. No.: |
12/946362 |
Filed: |
November 15, 2010 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
709/217 ;
719/318 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q 10/06 20130101;
H04L 67/306 20130101; G06Q 10/10 20130101; H04L 67/22 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
709/217 ;
719/318 |
International
Class: |
G06F 9/46 20060101
G06F009/46; G06F 15/16 20060101 G06F015/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Nov 13, 2009 |
KR |
10-2009-0109445 |
Claims
1. A method of managing content in a content managing apparatus,
the method comprising: determining an event to occur, based on user
metadata; selecting content corresponding to the event; selecting
an external device to reproduce the content; and generating binding
information about a binding between the event, the content, and the
external device.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising transmitting the
content to the external device.
3. The method of claim 2, wherein the content is transmitted to the
external device a predetermined time before the event is determined
to occur.
4. The method of claim 1, wherein the content is selected based on
at least one of content metadata including information about the
content and the user metadata, and wherein the external device is
selected, based on at least one of device metadata including
information about the external device and the user metadata.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein selecting the content comprises:
determining a type of the content corresponding to the event, based
on the user metadata; and selecting the content corresponding to
the type, based on at least one of the user metadata and the
content metadata.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the device metadata includes at
least one of identification information about a usable device,
resource status information about the usable device, codec
information about the usable device, video-type information about
the usable device, and audio-type information about the usable
device.
7. The method of claim 4, wherein the content metadata includes at
least one of identification information about usable content,
storage location information about the usable content, and
authority information about the usable content.
8. The method of claim 1, wherein the user metadata includes at
least one of user schedule information, user profile information
indicating personal information of a user, content preference
information indicating user preferred content, and device
preference information indicating a user preferred device.
9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving the content
in the content managing apparatus via a network connection.
10. A content managing apparatus comprising: an event determination
unit for determining an event to occur, based on user metadata; a
selection unit for selecting content corresponding to the event,
and selecting an external device to reproduce the content; and a
generation unit for generating binding information about a binding
between the event, the content, and the external device.
11. The content managing apparatus of claim 10, further comprising
a transmission unit for transmitting the content to the external
device.
12. The content managing apparatus of claim 11, wherein the
transmission unit transmits the content a predetermined time before
the event is determined to occur.
13. The content managing apparatus of claim 10, wherein the
selection unit comprises: a content selection unit for selecting
the content based on at least one of content metadata including
information about the content and the user metadata; and a device
selection unit for selecting the external device based on at least
one of device metadata including information about the external
device and the user metadata.
14. The content managing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the content
selection unit comprises: a type determination unit for determining
a type of the content corresponding to the event, based on the user
metadata; and a content determination unit for selecting the
content corresponding to the type, based on at least one of the
user metadata and the content metadata.
15. The content managing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the device
metadata comprises at least one of: identification information
about a usable device; resource status information about the usable
device; codec information about the usable device; video-type
information about the usable device; and audio-type information
about the usable device.
16. The content managing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the content
metadata comprises at least one of: identification information
about usable content; storage location information about the usable
content; and authority information about the usable content.
17. The content managing apparatus of claim 10, wherein the user
metadata comprises at least one of: user schedule information; user
profile information indicating personal information of a user;
content preference information indicating user preferred content;
and device preference information indicating a user preferred
device.
18. The content managing apparatus of claim 10, further comprising
a receiving unit for receiving the content via a network
connection.
19. A non-transitory computer readable recording medium having
recorded thereon a program for executing the method of: determining
an event to occur, based on user metadata; selecting content
corresponding to the event; selecting an external device to
reproduce the content; and generating binding information about a
binding between the event, the content, and the external device.
Description
PRIORITY
[0001] This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C.
.sctn.119(a) to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2009-0109445,
which was filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Nov.
13, 2009, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by
reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0002] 1. Field of the Invention
[0003] The present invention relates generally to a method and
apparatus for managing content, and more particularly, to a method
and apparatus for providing content to an external device.
[0004] 2. Description of the Related Art
[0005] With the rapid development in the Information Technology
(IT) field, large amounts of content are available to users of
Consumer Electronic (CE) devices. However, the users have to search
through these large amounts of content in order to locate desired
content.
[0006] Additionally, as various types of CE devices are available,
the user also has to check a content type that is reproducible in
each of the CE devices, and then search for and obtain the
reproducible content.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] Accordingly, the present invention has been designed to
address the above-mentioned problems occurring in the prior art,
and the present invention provides a method and apparatus for
managing content, in order to transmit user desired content to an
appropriate external device.
[0008] According to an aspect of the present invention, a method of
managing content is provided. The method includes determining an
event to occur in a future, based on user metadata; selecting
content corresponding to the event; selecting an external device to
reproduce the content; and generating binding information about
binding between the event, the content, and the external
device.
[0009] According to another aspect of the present invention, a
content managing apparatus is provided. The apparatus includes an
event determination unit for determining an event to occur in a
future, based on user metadata; a selection unit for selecting
content corresponding to the event, and selecting an external
device to reproduce the content; and a generation unit for
generating binding information about binding between the event, the
content, and the external device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0010] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of
certain embodiments of the present invention will become more
apparent the following detailed description with reference to the
attached drawings, in which:
[0011] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a content managing
apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0012] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating user metadata according to
an embodiment of the present invention;
[0013] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating content metadata according
to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0014] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating device metadata according
to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0015] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating device metadata according
to an embodiment of the present invention;
[0016] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of operations performed by a
content managing apparatus according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0017] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of operations performed by a
content managing apparatus according to an embodiment of the
present invention;
[0018] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of binding information,
according to an embodiment of the present invention; and
[0019] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing
content, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
[0020] Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present invention
will be described in detail with reference to the attached
drawings. In the following description, the same elements will be
designated by the same reference numerals although they are shown
in different drawings. Further, a detailed description of known
functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted
when it may obscure the subject matter of the present
invention.
[0021] FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a content managing
apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present
invention.
[0022] Referring to FIG. 1, the content managing apparatus 100
includes an event determination unit 110, a selection unit 120, and
a generation unit 130. The event determination unit 110 determines
an event to occur in the future, based on user metadata including
any information about a user. For example, the user metadata may
include user schedule information, user profile information
including personal information of the user, content preference
information, i.e., information about user preferred content, and
device preference information, i.e., information about a user
preferred device. A more detailed example of user metadata will be
described later with reference to FIG. 2.
[0023] The event determination unit 110 may check the event to
occur in the future by using the user schedule information.
However, the event determination unit 110 may also predict the
event to occur in the future without using the user schedule
information. For example, when the user regularly performs a
specific event, and such information is included in the user
metadata, the event determination unit 110 may predict an event to
be performed by the user. More specifically, if the user metadata
includes information indicating that the user goes jogging at 9:00
AM each day, the event determination unit 110 may predict that a
"jogging event" will occur "tomorrow at 9:00 AM".
[0024] The selection unit 120 selects content corresponding to an
event, and selects an external device to reproduce the selected
content. The selection unit 120 includes a content selection unit
122 and a device selection unit 124.
[0025] The content selection unit 122 selects the content
corresponding to the event, based on at least one of the user
metadata and content metadata. The content metadata may include any
information about content. For example, the content metadata may
include IDentification (ID) information about usable content,
storage location information about the usable content, authority
information about the usable content, and content type information.
A more detailed example of the content metadata will be described
later with reference to FIG. 3.
[0026] Additionally, the content selection unit 122 may include a
type determination unit (not shown) and a content determination
unit (not shown). The type determination unit determines a type of
the content corresponding to the event, according to the user
metadata.
[0027] For example, when the event determination unit 110
determines the event to occur in the future as an "English test",
and the user metadata includes information indicating that an
English level of the user is "level 3", the type determination unit
determines the type of the content corresponding to the "English
test" event as a "file related to English" corresponding to "level
3".
[0028] In another example, when the event determination unit 110
determines the event to occur in the future as "exercise", and the
user metadata includes information indicating that the user prefers
"dance music" for exercising, the type determination unit
determines the type of the content corresponding to the "exercise"
event as "dance music".
[0029] When a type of content is determined, the content
determination unit selects at least one content corresponding to
the determined type, based on the content metadata. When there is a
choice of different content for the determined type, a content list
may be provided to the user and for the user to select the final
content, or final content may be automatically determined based on
the user metadata.
[0030] The content determination unit searches for content
corresponding to the type determined by the type determination unit
based on at least one of the content ID information and the content
type information, and then obtains the content using the content
storage location information. The content storage location
information may include, e.g., a Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
address in an Internet network. In this case, the content managing
apparatus 100 may receive the content determined by the content
determination unit.
[0031] The device selection unit 124 selects a device to use the
selected content, based on at least one of the user metadata and
device metadata.
[0032] The device metadata may include any information regarding a
device, e.g., at least one of ID information about a usable device,
resource status information about the usable device, codec
information about the usable device, video-type information about
the usable device, and audio-type information about the usable
device. More detailed examples of the device metadata will be
described later with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.
[0033] The device selection unit 124 identifies an external device
capable of reproducing the content selected by the content
selection unit 122, according to the device metadata. When one or
more external devices are capable of reproducing the selected
content, the device selection unit 124 may automatically select a
user most-preferred device, based on the user metadata.
Alternatively, the device selection unit 124 may present a list of
available devices to user.
[0034] Although, the selection unit 120 illustrated in FIG. 1
includes a content selection unit 122 for selecting an event and a
device selection unit 124 for selecting a device, for ease of
description, a single unit can also perform these two
selections.
[0035] The generation unit 130 generates binding information about
binding between the event, the content, and the external device.
The binding information is updated whenever the event, the content,
or the external device is generated (connection), deleted
(removal), and changed (status change). A more detailed example of
the binding information will be described later with reference to
FIG. 8.
[0036] The content managing apparatus 100 may further include a
transmission unit (not shown), which transmits the content to the
external device based on the binding information. The transmission
unit may be connected to the external device via a wired or
wireless network. For example, the transmission unit may transmit
the binding information to the external device, and then the
external device directly obtains the content using the received
binding information.
[0037] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating user metadata 200 according
to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0038] Referring to FIG. 2, the user metadata 200 includes schedule
information 210, user profile information 220, content preference
information 230, and device preference information 240.
[0039] The schedule information 210 includes schedules that are
directly recorded by a user, and/or includes schedules that are
predicted by examining details of events that have been performed
by the user.
[0040] The user profile information 220 includes personal
information of the user, such as an age of the user, a gender of
the user, a hobby of the user, a family of the user, friends of the
user, a level of foreign languages, certificate information,
etc.
[0041] The content preference information 230 includes information
about user preferred content. For example, the user preferred
content can be selected based on information about actors,
directors, genres, production countries, etc., which are preferred
by the user, or is selected based on a history of the content used
by the user. The content preference information 230 may also
include information about user preferred content selected according
to various standards. In the example illustrated in FIG. 2, the
user preferred content is selected according to ambient
environments, events, and genres.
[0042] More specifically, referring to FIG. 2, the user further
prefers ballad music on a rainy day, and further prefers dance
music on a sunny day. When the user performs an "exercise" event,
the user prefers "dance music", and when the user performs a
"shower" event, the user prefers "jazz music".
[0043] With respect to the genres, the user further prefers a piece
titled "A" from among dance music pieces, and further prefers a
piece titled "B" from among classical music pieces.
[0044] The content selection unit 122 determines content as event
content according to the content preference information 230,
wherein the content is predicted for use by the user when an event
occurs. For example, when an "exercise" event will occur tomorrow
at 8:00 AM, the content selection unit 122 determines a "dance
music piece A" as content corresponding to the "exercise" event
because, according to the content preference information 230, the
user prefers listening to "dance music" during an "exercise" event,
and most prefers the "dance music piece A" from among dance music
pieces.
[0045] The device preference information 240 includes information
about a user preferred device. For example, the device preference
information 240 may be generated based on a history of external
devices used by the user. The device preference information 240 may
indicate the user preferred device according to various standards.
In the example of FIG. 2, user preferred devices are selected
according to ambient environments, events, and content types.
[0046] More specifically, referring to FIG. 2, the user prefers a
"notebook" device in a "school" environment, and prefers an "MPEG
Audio Layer-3 (MP3)" device in a "home" environment. When the user
performs an "exercise" event, the user prefers an "MP3" device, and
when the user studies for a "test", the user prefers a "portable
multimedia player (PMP)" device. Also, the user prefers an "MP3"
device for reproducing "music", and prefers a "notebook" device for
reproducing an "Image", e.g., a movie or a photograph.
[0047] The device preference information 240 identifies a device
capable of reproducing selected content, based on device metadata
400. When multiple devices are capable of reproducing the selected
content, a user preferred external device is selected based on the
device preference information 240. For example, when the "exercise"
event will occur tomorrow at 8:00 AM, the content selection unit
122 determines the "dance music piece A" as the content
corresponding to the "exercise" event. Because the user generally
uses an MP3 device when the user exercises, the device selection
unit 124 selects the MP3 device as an external device to reproduce
the "dance music piece A".
[0048] The content preference information 230 and the device
preference information 240 may be included in the content metadata
and the device metadata, respectively.
[0049] FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating content metadata 300
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0050] Referring to FIG. 3, the content metadata 300 includes a
content ID item 310, a type item 320, a location item 330, a
description item 340, and an authority item 350. The content ID
item 310 indicates content ID information, and the type item 320
indicates a type of content. The location item 330 indicates a
position in which the content is stored. When the content is stored
in an internal database, the location item 330 includes an address
within the database. However, when the content has to be received
from a website, the location item 330 includes a URL address of the
corresponding website.
[0051] The description item 340 includes brief description
information about the content, and the authority item 350 indicates
an authority of a user. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, when
the authority item 350 displays "O", this indicates that
corresponding content may be used, modified, and deleted, when the
authority item 350 displays "X", this indicates that corresponding
content may not be used, modified, and deleted, and when the
authority item 350 displays "Y", this indicates that corresponding
content may be only used.
[0052] Referring to FIG. 3, content whose content ID is "2001" is a
dance music file stored in a folder with a path of D:/music>.
Also, because the authority item 350 displays "O" for this content,
the user may freely use, modify, and delete the content.
[0053] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating device metadata 400
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0054] Referring to FIG. 4, the device metadata 400 includes a
device ID item 410, a file format item 420, a usability item 430, a
resource status item 440, and a preferred device item 450. The
device ID item 410 indicates device ID information, and the file
format item 420 indicates a file format that is reproducible in a
device. The usability item 430 indicates whether it is possible to
use a corresponding device. In particular, the usability item 430
indicates usability in relation to occurrence of a user event. For
example, when the user event occurs on a street, a desktop computer
is displayed as a usable device.
[0055] The resource status item 440 indicates an amount of
resources allowed to be used by a device. For example, the resource
status item 440 may include a size of a storage space allowed to be
used by a corresponding device.
[0056] The preferred device item 450 indicates which device a user
prefers. The preferred device item 450 may include information
about the number of times that the user uses a corresponding
device, or may include ranking information about corresponding
devices.
[0057] As indicated above, the device selection unit 124 selects an
optimum device according to each item included in the device
metadata 400.
[0058] More specifically, the device selection unit 124 checks
external devices connected to or registered in the content managing
apparatus 100, based on the device ID item 410, in order to
identify external devices capable of reproducing obtained content,
based on the file format item 420. Thereafter, the device selection
unit 124 checks an external device that is usable when a user event
occurs, based on the usability item 430, and checks whether it is
possible to store the obtained content in an external device, based
on the resource status item 440.
[0059] If two or more external devices are capable of transmitting
the obtained content, the device selection unit 124 makes a final
selection of a device based on the preferred device item 450.
[0060] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating device metadata 500
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0061] Referring to FIG. 5, the device metadata 500 includes video
information 510, audio information 520, resource information 530,
and codec information 540. The video information 510 includes a
display size 511, definition 512, a fresh rate 513, and color
information 514, the audio information 520 includes a
Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) 521 and the number of frequency
channels 522, and the resource information 530 includes Central
Processing Unit (CPU) information 531, memory information 532, and
power consumption information 533.
[0062] The codec information 540 indicates information about codecs
supported by a corresponding device. The codec information 540
includes encoder type information 541 and decoder type information
542, which are related to an encoder and a decoder supported by the
corresponding device. The encoder type information 541 and the
decoder type information 542 may include video codec information,
audio codec information, image codec information, and container
information, which are used in the encoder and the decoder.
[0063] FIG. 6 illustrates an example of operations performed by a
content managing apparatus 600 according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0064] As described above, a content selection unit 122 determines
content corresponding to an event to occur in the future, based on
at least one of user schedule information and user metadata. In the
example illustrated in FIG. 6, there are three events will occur,
i.e., "mother's birthday" 611, "exercise" 621, and "English class"
631.
[0065] The content selection unit 122 selects "alarm music A" 612
as content corresponding to "mother's birthday" 611, selects "dance
music A" 622 as content corresponding to "exercise" 621, and
selects "class material A" 632 as content corresponding to "English
class" 631.
[0066] A device selection unit 124 selects one or more external
devices to receive "alarm music A" 612, "dance music A" 622, and
"class material A" 632. The device selection unit 124 selects a
mobile phone 610 for the "alarm music A" 612, selects an MP3 player
620 for the "dance music A" 622, and selects a notebook 630 for the
"class material A" 632.
[0067] A generation unit 130 generates binding information about
binding between an event, content, and an external device. A
transmission unit transmits the "alarm music A" 612, "dance music
A" 622, and "class material A" 632 to the external devices
according to the binding information. Here, a time to transmit
content may be set by a user or may be set with a default
value.
[0068] FIG. 7 illustrates an example of operations performed by a
content managing apparatus 700 according to an embodiment of the
present invention.
[0069] Referring to FIG. 7, the content managing apparatus 700
obtains information about an event to occur in the future from
schedule information 710. Referring to the schedule information
710, three events are scheduled on Nov. 9, 2009, i.e., "birthday of
Sung Choonhyang", "exercise", and "English class".
[0070] Referring to the user metadata 200 of FIG. 2, a user
generally listens to dance music for an "exercise" event. In
particular, the user mainly listens to "dance music A" for the
"exercise" event. The content managing apparatus 700 determines
"dance music A" as content corresponding to the "exercise"
event.
[0071] Referring to the user metadata 200, an English level of the
user is "level 3". The content managing apparatus 700 determines
"level-3 English listening file" as content corresponding to an
"English class" event.
[0072] Referring to the user metadata 200, "Sung Choonhyang" is a
girlfriend of the user. The content managing apparatus 700
determines "alarm music A" as content corresponding to a "birthday
of Sung Choonhyang" event.
[0073] The content managing apparatus 700 selects one or more
external devices to use the determined content. Specifically, in
the example illustrated FIG. 7, an MP3 player is selected for the
"dance music A", a mobile phone is selected for the "alarm music
A", and a notebook is selected for the "level-3 English listening
file".
[0074] The content managing apparatus 700 determines a time to
transmit each content, based on the schedule information 710. The
content managing apparatus 700 may simultaneously transmit content
at a specific time, wherein the content correspond to all events to
occur in a next day, or may separately transmit the content within
a predetermined time before each event is predicted to occur.
[0075] For example, the content managing apparatus 700 may transmit
all of the "dance music A", the "alarm music A", and the "level-3
English listening file" at any time before 12:00 AM on Nov. 9,
2009, i.e., before the first event to occur that day, or may
transmit the "alarm music A" at 6:11:00 PM on Nov. 8, 2009, may
transmit the "dance music A" at 6:00 AM on Nov. 9, 2009, and may
transmit "level-3 English listening file" at 1:00 PM on Nov. 9,
2009.
[0076] FIG. 8 illustrates an example of binding information,
according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0077] Referring to FIG. 8, binding information 810 includes
information about binding between two scheduled events, content
corresponding to the scheduled events, and devices to reproduce the
content. It is assumed that a user adds an "English class" event to
user's schedule information. Referring to the schedule information,
it is possible to predict that the "English class" event will occur
from 2:00-4:00 PM on Nov. 9, 2009.
[0078] A content selection unit 122 selects content corresponding
to the "English class" event. For example, the content selection
unit 122 selects an English listening file as the content
corresponding to the "English class" event.
[0079] A device selection unit 124 then selects an external device
to reproduce the English listening file. For example, the device
selection unit 124 selects a notebook as the external device.
[0080] A generation unit 130 then generates second binding
information 820 by modifying the first binding information 810.
[0081] FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a method of managing
content, according to an embodiment of the present invention.
[0082] Referring to FIG. 9, in step S910, an event to occur in the
future is determined based on user metadata. As described above,
the user metadata may include at least one of schedule information,
user profile information, content preference information, and
device preference information.
[0083] In step S920, content corresponding to the event, and an
external device to reproduce the content are selected. For example,
when "exercise" is determined as an event, "dance music" is
selected as a type of content corresponding to the event, or when
"class" is determined as an event, "listening file" is selected as
a type of content corresponding to the event.
[0084] Next, content corresponding to the selected type is selected
based on content metadata. As described above, the content metadata
may include at least one of ID information about usable content,
storage location information about the usable content, and
authority information about the usable content.
[0085] Thereafter, an external device capable of reproducing
selected content is selected according to device metadata. As
described above, the device metadata may include at least one of ID
information about a usable device, device resource status
information about the usable device, device codec information about
the usable device, video-type information about the usable device,
and audio-type information about the usable device.
[0086] If one or more external devices are capable of reproducing
the selected content, a user most preferred external device is
selected according to the user metadata.
[0087] In step S930, binding information is generated about a
binding between the event, the content, and the external device.
Afterward, the selected content may be transmitted to the selected
external device based on the binding information, or information
that is necessary to obtain the selected content may be transmitted
to the selected external device. The selected content may be
transmitted to the selected external device within a predetermined
time before the determined event is predicted to occur.
[0088] In addition to the description provided above, various
embodiments of the present invention can be written as computer
programs and can be implemented in general-use digital computers
that execute the programs using a computer readable recording
medium. In addition, a data structure used in the embodiments of
the present invention can be written in a computer readable
recording medium through various means. Examples of the computer
readable recording medium include magnetic storage media (e.g.,
ROM, floppy disks, hard disks, etc.), optical recording media
(e.g., CD-ROMs, or DVDs), etc.
[0089] While the present invention has been particularly shown and
described with reference to certain embodiments thereof, it will be
understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various
changes in form and details may be made therein without departing
from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the
appended claims and their equivalents.
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